New York Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux exits preseason game with knee injury
Coaches will tell you their primary goal of preseason is to keep their top guys healthy.
So it was probably a gut-wrenching moment Sunday night for New York Giants coaches to see their top draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Kayvon Thibodeaux, crumple to the turf after taking a cut block from Cincinnati Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss. Thibodeaux left the game early in the second quarter and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the evening by the Giants.
Kayvon Thibodeaux down after this cut block…. pic.twitter.com/RXbOGCDs8n
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) August 22, 2022
There is some optimism in the organization, though, that the injury isn’t anything serious.
A cart came out to help Thibodeaux off the field after he was slow to get up, but he waved it off and walked off the field under his own power. He went to the team’s medical tent on the sideline shortly after to get his right knee looked at, but was then seen walking around on the sideline in good spirits.
LB Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants’ 2022 first-round pick, appeared to hurt his right knee but waved off the cart. He did go to the medical tent.
Here's Thibodeaux walking around on the sidelines afterward: pic.twitter.com/U6XUMwZXuy
— Jennifer X. Williams (@JenXperience) August 22, 2022
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Giants believe he avoided a major knee injury.
The former Oregon star was taken with the fifth pick in the recent NFL Draft. He had a strong training camp, but with this injury scare, we might not see much of him to close out the Giants’ preseason slate. They play the New York Jets next Sunday.
The Giants are hoping for big things from their prized rookie edge rusher this season. He has been working with the first-team defense since the start of OTAs in the spring.